explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2929: Good and Bad Ideas

2024-05-07T10:44:30Z

108.162.242.37:

Lots of bread/food in the "good" quadrant; I think Randall is hungry. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.73|162.158.154.73]] 05:33, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Soup always seems like a very good idea to me. I guess I like soup. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.182|172.69.79.182]] 07:15, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

I remember something like this in what if. [[Special:Contributions/SectorCorruptor|SectorCorruptor]] 07:21, 7 May 2024 (UTC)
:The title immediately reminded me on the Animaniacs shorts "Good Idea / Bad Idea" [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:33, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Does anybody know why solar cars and transitions lenses are actually a bad idea? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.173|172.70.160.173]] 09:11, 7 May 2024 (UTC)
:Transitions lenses are misplaced. The only caveat is that if you like outdoor photography (landscapes, wildlife, etc.) you should get grey lenses rather than brown ones, because the brown ones make a blue sky seem overcast. [[User:Pjt33|Pjt33]] ([[User talk:Pjt33|talk]]) 09:22, 7 May 2024 (UTC)
::The precise opposite is true. Grey lenses make ''all'' things - blue sky included - look greyer, as is perhaps unsurprising. Brown tints involve a degree of orange, which means the overall impression is of a "warmer" colour pallette, rather than simply a duller one. There is a reason that "grey skies" and "overcast" mean ''exactly'' the same thing - an overcast sky ''is'' a grey tinted filter. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 09:48, 7 May 2024 (UTC)
:I think the Transition lens issue is primarily that the bright light that can turn them dark need not be heading into the eye. With the Sun (say) off at an angle, it could be 'reacting' your lenses to dark needlesly, and reducing your ability to discern the things in front of you (which may be in shadow), working against the basic ability of the eye to adjust itself as per observed illumination.
:Conversely, a small bright light would not sufficiently darken the lenses but be still damaging to the spot(s) it falls upon in your retina (or do the "whole lens go dark" thing and ''still'' be too bright even as you can't see anything else beyond it). This might also be combined with the general secondary problem of potentially all regular sunglasses/goggles, that aren't industrial-grade or specific solar-specs, in that it might make it ''look'' safe to stare at bright things/skies through them but you cannot tell how much UV/etc is also being filtered out (some brands do have notable UV protection, but you really have to trust their claims/certifications – unless you have your own testing kit and knowledge of how much is good/bad anyway).
:I'd add that, but it needs a sharper explanation than I just gave. I'd like to make what's already there snappier, before that, plus correct the numerous typos and funny formatting (and lack of useful wikilinks), but will probably leave that to others with the time. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.204|172.71.242.204]] 10:08, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Just as a note while we're here: "fecal transplant" is one of the most spectacular branding failures in the history of medical science, in my opinion. I mean, don't put the word "fecal" in anything you want people to feel positively about. And "microbiome transplant" is sitting right there, ready to serve.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.37|108.162.242.37]] 10:44, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

2900: Call My Cell

2024-03-09T19:37:32Z

108.162.242.37: 1284

{{comic
| number = 2900
| date = February 28, 2024
| title = Call My Cell
| image = call_my_cell_2x.png
| imagesize = 509x222px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Hey, can you call my cell?' '...I'm trying, but it says this number is blocked?' 'Ok, thanks, just checking.'
}}

==Explanation==
When a person cannot find their {{w|cell phone}}, it is not uncommon to ask a friend to call the phone in question. This will activate the device's ring tone and/or its haptic actuator, assuming the device is not off or silenced, making it easier to find (this is also one of the meanings of [[207: What xkcd Means|"xkcd"]]).

At first, [[Black Hat]] appears to have misplaced his cell phone, as he asks [[Cueball]] to call it. However, when Cueball does call Black Hat's cell, it is revealed to be in Black Hat's (supposed) pocket. He then makes a show of ''annoyance'' that Cueball ("''this'' guy") is calling him, sends the call to {{w|voicemail}}, and leaves. From this, it might be inferred that Black Hat was simply trying to demonstrate that he doesn't ''want'' Cueball to call him, showing another of his ''[[72: Classhole|classhole]]'' tendencies, as Black Hat is quite often depicted as deliberately inconsiderate and rarely prone to actual carelessness.

The title text is a similar situation. Cueball calls Black Hat, but instead Black Hat demonstrates that he was only "checking" that he had {{w|Call blocking|blocked Cueball's number}} so Cueball is unable to reach his cell, making an even stronger insult. This can also be seen as a grammatical accuracy. When Black Hat asks "Can you call my cell?" he is asking whether Cueball is ''able'' to place a call on Black Hat's cell phone. This would be a variation of a particularly pedantic authority figure replying to a "Can I...?" question with the response like "I imagine you ''can'', but (right now) you ''may not''..." and so denying the request. In this case, the answer to the strict interpretation would have been "No", rendering the implied issue of permission entirely moot.

This comic may be related to [[1284: Improved Keyboard]], where Black Hat stops Cueball from texting him by changing his keyboard.
==Transcript==
:[Black Hat walks in from the right approaching Cueball. Black Hat has his finger raised.]
:Black Hat: Hey, can you call my cell?

:[Cueball has taken his phone up and is pressing the screen, presumably dialing Black Hat's number. Black Hat looks down at his back pocket, which is ringing. He reaches for the pocket, which has his phone in it.]
:Black Hat: Oh, one sec.
:''Ring''

:[Cueball, still holding his phone, looks at Black Hat. Black Hat has turned his back to Cueball and is looking at his phone which he is holding in both hands. Above his head is both his one line of speech but also a separate jagged speech bubble indicating what is written on his phone screen.]
:Black Hat: Ugh, it's '''''this''''' guy.
:Phone: ''Send to voicemail''

:[Cueball, holding his phone down, watches Black Hat walk away from him, already partly outside the right frame of the panel.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Phones]]

Talk:2898: Orbital Argument

2024-02-29T01:21:36Z

108.162.242.37: Added comment.

May not be (probably isn't!) the inspiration for this comic, but just yesterday there was news of the latest successes in cooling down {{w|Positronium}} (an 'atom' in which nothing is at the nucleus, the charges 'orbit each other' (or the quantum equivalent)). A co-inky-dink, surely, but just thought I'd mention it in passing... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.78|141.101.98.78]] 03:13, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

In editing, I'm accutely aware that even the "relatively small" force by the Earth on the Sun is a bad way of putting it. Looked at properly, ''exactly the same'' force is exerted against the Sun by the Earth (heavy item drawn pulled down to light item) as is exerted against the Earth by the Sun (lighter item being pulled down by heavier item). ((Fairly easily proven, these days: e.g. If it were not so, something like a bowling-ball and ping-pong ball could be kept separate by a stick, but released in space where they'd then work as a 'gravity drive' that propelled them one way (or perhaps the other!) without any need for power/propellant.)) Of course, the force should be considered equal (bidirectionally singular) with the inertial framing being the factor that makes the freefalling apple the more obvious thing to fall than the Earth upon which any budding Newton is stood/sat in rapt observation. But the Earth's contribution to the (currently) indivisible joint attraction that drives both sides of any 2-body problem is far more than any given apple and far less than any given star. As and when we can perhaps split this (either directionally 'diode' the flow of gravitational effects, or even independently manipulate inertial and gravitational masses) then perhaps we will need to be more discriminating in calculating/describing about such things. Assuming we don't just go with "gravity is a lie, it's all just mass-curved spacetime", instead. ;) But just thought I'd expound a few different relevent worldviews, of greater or lesser usefulness... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.33|141.101.99.33]] 04:35, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

Atomic & subatomic "particles" as discrete units, are a test condition artifact. Everything is waves.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 13:56, 24 February 2024 (UTC)
:Or (admitedly 'wavy') strings. Or resonant fields. Or some other esoterically theorised GUT-fodder... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.156|172.71.178.156]] 15:49, 24 February 2024 (UTC)
::Submolecular strings are just (helical) waves viewed through a threshold-conditional gate.
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:34, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

I think comic 690: Semicontrolled Demolition is relevant to this one and should appear somewhere in the explanation of this one, as it touches on the same base idea. {{unsigned ip|15:45, 24 February 2024|172.71.175.75}}

Isn't there something about knowledge being true information arrived at by logically sound reasoning? This meets the first criteria but not the second. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 17:31, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

I feel there is an additional explanation that White Hat did not intend. The Sun and Earth, the entire Solar system for that matter, orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Which may also orbit the center of the known Universe? I am not an astrophysicist or knowledgeable enough to attempt a proper explanation. [[User:Vampire|Vampire]] ([[User talk:Vampire|talk]]) 15:31, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

"The Earth-Moon barycenter is located approximately ¾ of the way from Earth's center of mass to its surface, towards the Moon's center of mass. Our tidal bulges (oceanic and otherwise) occur along that line. One bulge is towards the Moon because of the gravitational attraction, and the other is in the opposite direction, by centrifugal force from the Earth's rotation around the barycenter." This is wrong for a couple of reasons. First, both bulges are the result of the same effect, and they would be there even if the Moon and Earth weren't producing centrifugal force by rotating about each other. In the usual explanation of the opposite bulges, you look at the acceleration of a particle on the near side of the Earth towards the Moon by more, the acceleration of the center of the Earth by a medium amount, and the acceleration of a particle on the far side of the Earth by less. Then, to look at things in the frame of reference of the center of the Earth, you subtract the center's acceleration, and find that the near side accelerates toward the Moon by a little, and the far side accelerates away from the Moon by a little. But even that explanation is wrong, or at least, very incomplete - the main driver of the tides is due to the vastly larger volume of water *away* from the line through the Earth's and Moon's centers; when you do that same vector subtraction of the local acceleration from the Moon minus the acceleration of the center of the Earth, you find that you get a tangential component of acceleration, and since water can flow, it does, until it reaches a surface of constant potential (it's not a lot of distance, but it's a lot of volume moving, so the tidal bulge is a significant volume of water). See https://web.archive.org/web/20220115060446/https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/tides.htm [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.30|172.70.110.30]] 15:46, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Ok, so regarding [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2898:_Orbital_Argument&diff=336067&oldid=336066 this argument], the problem is removing the clarification that this is not subject to consensus 'averaging'. Two totally different opinions which cannot be averaged, merged, subsampled or intermingled. It is maybe useful to mention taking multiple weather predictions and generating the most supported trend, much as natural language processing algorithms, but here the two statements cannot be combined in simple numerical or tokenwise ways (that is the point). Yes, state that mid-point estimations are useful (I'm happy with such a statement, and preserved/enhanced it), but do not remove the salient issue that ''in this case'' it is not a useful process. It's beyond even [[2893: Sphere Tastiness]] illogic. '''Which is the joke'''.... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.55|172.71.242.55]] 18:51, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

Re: expert averaging, it's non-intuitive to consider that different symbolic statements in text can be averaged, but with a neural predictive model (NN, human brain) this actually is possible. You *can* average the latent vector representations of two text inputs (x,x') in the (vectorized) latent space of a neural model (z + z'). Latent averaging is often used in ML as an empirical heuristic to improve performance (sentence embeddings, mixture-of-experts models), and can be hypothesized to operate via the mechanism of improving the efficiency of a learned Bayesian circuit that performs abductive reasoning. Averaging is more obviously seen in the output token space, for example, you might symbolically average temperatures from two weather models (formalized as ensemble models, consensus models, etc.). So although it sounds weird at first glance, averaging experts in either latent or manifest space is often a good heuristic for a guess, and is rewarded as a result. Arguably, White Hat is using this algo and actually making a good guess here, although if he can't explain his thought process symbolically (he's just doing it because it feels "nice"), his accuracy may come off as an "accident." Caveats: there are definitely conditions under which averaging experts can go awry in both latent and manifest spaces (false balance, non-expert data, partial observability, etc.), but this arguably isn't the case in either the orbital or wave-particle initial observations.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.37|108.162.242.37]] 01:21, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Talk:144: Parody Week: A Softer World

2024-01-12T01:30:22Z

108.162.242.37: Oops, volume, not version

XKCD Volume 0 also has

UATAQANUUNG QSICHINGNKUCHAANG CHSICHINGSICHINGNG

SICHINGULUUNGUUNG CHASNGATAQANCHATAQANNG

above the strip.

Talk:209: Kayak

2024-01-12T01:27:51Z

108.162.242.37: /* xkcd Version 0 (book) */ Oops, volume

I have successfully invented a police box that travels through time. All I need is a way to change the travel speed from the default 60-second-per-minute and we'd have an operational TARDIS! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.237|141.101.99.237]] 05:57, 27 January 2014 (UTC)
Is the title text a reference to Calvin and Hobbes? "There's treasure everywhere!" --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.78|173.245.48.78]] 19:47, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

The sentence in the third paragraph which begins with the word "However" is reading into the original comic something which is not actually in the original comic. It is probably true that Randall wanted the reader to think that Beret Guy in panel one was implying that the kayak could "travel through time in a science fiction sense" but there is nothing in the comic to suggest that Cueball thinks that the kayak "can travel through time in a science fiction sense."

I have a time machine but it only travels at a rate of one second per second and it can't go back in time.

== xkcd Volume 0 (book) ==

below the strip, the book has

SICHINGULUUNGUUNG HSICHINGULUUNGATAQANM-

SICHINGULUUNGSICHINGQSICHINGN NUATAQAN

See also similar lettering above Parody Week: A Softer World on the same page, 11002.

Talk:285: Wikipedian Protester

2024-01-12T01:24:11Z

108.162.242.37: /* xkcd Version 0 (book) */ Oops, Volume, not version

[http://www.google.com link title]I wanna sneakily add {{Citation needed}} to EVERYTHING on the article -- [[Citation Needed on Wheels]]
: There is too much seemingly-spam edits that attempt to insert "citation needed" on various pages on this wiki. Many of these attempts got reverted. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.173|162.158.166.173]] 06:14, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
:: It seems to amuse some people, who may have just discovered the idea. More annoying than the attempt to tag every paragraph (at least once!) in every article, or so it seems, is not understanding that the tag goes on the ''other'' side of the punctuation (comma, and/or sentence/parenthetical ending), or plonking it down mid-sentence with seemingly no thought to "why there?".
:: As we have had a recent string of misplaced zeal (an IP, like me and you, so hard to tie down or try to tell them where they're going wrong), I suspect a newbie to the site. But it seems we have some people (other than me) who either edit or revert such 'errors'. Which is nice. Maybe newbie'll take note and pick up the art of subtlety. Or at least the conventional style. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.35|172.70.90.35]] 09:51, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
::: This appeared again twice in [[2466]]. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.220|172.69.22.220]] 09:55, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Does this need a citation? --[[User:Dalonacueball|Dalonacueball]] ([[User talk:Dalonacueball|talk]]) 16:30, 27 May 2015 (UTC)
:No.{{Citation needed}} [[User:SuperSupermario24|Just some random derp]] 03:54, 13 June 2015 (UTC)
My favorite {{Citation needed}} joke was the fact that the Wikipedia article for "{{w|List of cetacean species|List of Whales}}" used to have "Cetacean Needed" if it was missing an image or scale diagram of the creature in question. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 05:11, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
:Still does! Thanks for pointing that out. [[User:Zeusfaber|Zeusfaber]] ([[User talk:Zeusfaber|talk]]) 18:41, 9 July 2016 (UTC)
:Checked last week, there's still a cetacean needed for the page to be complete. [[User:ChessCake|ChessCake]] ([[User talk:ChessCake|talk]]) 22:20, 12 December 2018 (UTC)
:Some anonymous wikipedia editor was enjoying themselves far too much when writing that wiki. Its so genius that no-one has changed it yet! Wikipedia is normally maintained pretty well for the big pages{{Citation needed}}. sam0fc 14:49, 2 May 2019 (UTC)
::Amazingly, it's still there! There's 12 of them still! [[User:Lettherebedarklight|aoijgpisbHtejsykl7ekderhtsjk6r64os4kys\\\[]jsrtjgdrghtvgwrhtejyku5dli6;78t7l6rk5j4h|||||#Rty-----WWWWWWfflfllfllfllfeogk0q9wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww4-cv;c;;c;c[;]z\]d;v[\]????????OH GOD IT'S CRASIHNG MY PC��]] ([[User talk:Lettherebedarklight|talk]]) 12:22, 5 November 2020 (UTC)
::If you check the discussion, people have tried to change it before. But, strictly speaking, "cetacean needed" goes where they need an image of a cetacean. No citation is needed at all, and it is 100% fair to say that (an image of) a cetacean is, in fact, needed. [[User:Tsumikiminiwa|Tsumikiminiwa]] ([[User talk:Tsumikiminiwa|talk]]) 08:28, 5 April 2023 (UTC)
Is it just me or does the politician in this comic (from almost nine years ago) look suspiciously like Mr. Trump?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.129|162.158.85.129]] 22:09, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
:Nah, this one has better hair.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.29|173.245.56.29]] 00:25, 11 July 2016 (UTC)
:Plus, this came out a long time before he became...big.{{Citation needed}} [[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 19:42, 20 March 2017 (UTC)
::Don't know how you define "big," but by most definitions Trump has in fact been "big" since *long* before this comic. {{Citation needed}} [[User:Abcasada|Abcasada]] ([[User talk:Abcasada|talk]]) 22:20, 25 September 2018 (UTC)
Huh, in my memory, this comic specifically included the phrase "We hold these truths to be self-evident". I guess not - but I wonder if some Wikipedians would consider a {{Citation needed}} for that one? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 19:42, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

{{Citation needed}}. [[User:AnonymousSub61|AnonymousSub61]] ([[User talk:AnonymousSub61|talk]]) 15:32, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Does this mean you can play [https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/game SMBC's game] using this website? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.250|162.158.89.250]] 15:00, 30 September 2021 (UTC)
: I had the same idea! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.193|108.162.221.193]] 14:31, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

[http://smbc-comics.com Funtime Activity]: Create citations for all pages with {{citation needed}} in them. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.88|172.69.68.88]] 02:35, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

== xkcd Volume 0 (book) ==

The page with this strip (11011) also contains a note to a character"

GHNHIYTOTNNNBSFOEVYYVT

NAQGYIUAEIEAIAEURFYV

GULGBIREOUKEGEAEEPFQ

VQYLEDVYSRNVNJULRNAQTVZOY

RVEYOHRHEWSWHAGURJNO

RNYYZVZFDESFYIEIOPELJR

ERGUROBEBRLGNVNLSDKETEBI

xkcd: volume 0

2024-01-12T01:07:10Z

108.162.242.37: /* Other non-comic content */ Fix typo, add poem

[[File:xkcd_volume_0.jpeg|260px|right|thumb|The cover of the book]]
{{notice|'''This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect:''' The article is missing more information and links about the book. If you can address this issue, please '''[{{fullurl:{{{target|{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}}|action=edit}} edit the page]!''' Thanks.}}

{{Quote|<nowiki></nowiki>''xkcd: volume 0'' is the first xkcd book! It features selections from the first 600 comics, including various author and fan favorites. It was lovingly assembled from high-resolution original scans of the comics (the mouseover text is discreetly included), and features a lot of doodles, notes, and puzzles in the margins.
|''[[Randall Munroe]]|[https://web.archive.org/web/20100701115034/http://store.xkcd.com/ Source]}}

'''''xkcd: volume 0''''' is a book by [[Randall Munroe]] released on August 24, 2010. It features a collection of comics personally chosen by the artist from the initial 600 entries of the webcomic. These comics were assembled from high-resolution original scans and include the original or, sometimes, a different title text. The book is available to [https://archive.org/details/2009Xkcd read in full on the Internet Archive].

The book is published by {{w|Breadpig}}, a company founded by Randall's friend Alexis, and their portion of the profits will go to build a school in Laos through the charity {{w|Room to Read}}.

==Included comics==
* [[10: Pi Equals]]
* [[242: The Difference]]
* [[249: Chess Photo]]
* [[123: Centrifugal Force]]
* [[214: The Problem with Wikipedia]]
* [[221: Random Number]]
* [[231: Cat Proximity]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[21: Kepler]]
* [[30: Donner]]
* [[37: Hyphen]]
* [[82: Frame]]
* [[44: Love]]
* [[54: Science]]
* [[55: Useless]]
* [[85: Paths]]
* [[105: Parallel Universe]]
* [[108: M.C. Hammer Slide]]
* [[112: Baring My Heart]]
* [[114: Computational Linguists]]
* [[120: Dating Service]]
* [[116: City]]
* [[117: Pong]]
* [[124: Blogofractal]]
* [[128: dPain over dt]]
* [[134: Myspace]]
* [[135: Substitute]]
* [[136: Science Fair]]
* [[137: Dreams]]
* [[138: Pointers]]
* [[149: Sandwich]]
* [[152: Hamster Ball]]
* [[160: Penny Arcade Parody]]
* [[153: Cryptography]]
* [[159: Boombox]]
* [[157: Filler Art]]
* [[161: Accident]]
* [[162: Angular Momentum]]
* [[184: Matrix Transform]]
* [[163: Donald Knuth]]
* [[165: Turn Signals]]
* [[201: Christmas GPS]]
* [[177: Alice and Bob]]
* [[173: Movie Seating]]
* [[179: e to the pi times i]]
* [[191: Lojban]]
* [[210: 90's Flowchart]]
* [[200: Bill Nye]]
* [[182: Nash]]
* [[180: Canada]]
* [[215: Letting Go]]
* [[239: Blagofaire]]
* [[225: Open Source]]
* [[230: Hamiltonian]]
* [[240: Dream Girl]]
* [[247: Factoring the Time]]
* [[248: Hypotheticals]]
* [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]]
* [[257: Code Talkers]]
* [[258: Conspiracy Theories]]
* [[262: IN UR REALITY]]
* [[276: Fixed Width]]
* [[274: With Apologies to The Who]]
* [[279: Pickup Lines]]
* [[275: Thoughts]]
* [[77: Bored with the Internet]]
* [[150: Grownups]]
* [[167: Nihilism]]
* [[144: Parody Week: A Softer World]]
* [[209: Kayak]]
* [[202: YouTube]]
* [[285: Wikipedian Protester]]
* [[472: House of Pancakes]]
* [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
* [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]]
* [[264: Choices: Part 1]]
* [[265: Choices: Part 2]]
* [[266: Choices: Part 3]]
* [[267: Choices: Part 4]]
* [[268: Choices: Part 5]]
* [[282: Organic Fuel]]
* [[280: Librarians]]
* [[320: 28-Hour Day]]
* [[316: Loud Sex]]
* [[284: Tape Measure]]
* [[287: NP-Complete]]
* [[290: Fucking Blue Shells]]
* [[303: Compiling]]
* [[291: Dignified]]
* [[305: Rule 34]]
* [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]
* [[333: Getting Out of Hand]]
* [[323: Ballmer Peak]]
* [[322: Pix Plz]]
* [[325: A-Minus-Minus]]
* [[340: Fight]]
* [[356: Nerd Sniping]]
* [[349: Success]]
* [[366: Your Mom]]
* [[369: Dangers]]
* [[372: To Be Wanted]]
* [[374: Journal]]
* [[377: Journal 2]]
* [[373: The Data So Far]]
* [[376: Bug]]
* [[380: Emoticon]]
* [[387: Advanced Technology]]
* [[386: Duty Calls]]
* [[412: Startled]]
* [[389: Keeping Time]]
* [[397: Unscientific]]
* [[391: Anti-Mindvirus]]
* [[393: Ultimate Game]]
* [[416: Zealous Autoconfig]]
* [[396: The Ring]]
* [[398: Tap That Ass]]
* [[420: Jealousy]]
* [[429: Fantasy]]
* [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport]]
* [[435: Purity]]
* [[445: I Am Not Good with Boomerangs]]
* [[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]]
* [[451: Impostor]]
* [[452: Mission]]
* [[463: Voting Machines]]
* [[500: Election]]
* [[481: Listen to Yourself]]
* [[486: I am Not a Ninja]]
* [[487: Numerical Sex Positions]]
* [[505: A Bunch of Rocks]]
* [[488: Steal This Comic]]
* [[511: Sleet]]
* [[530: I'm An Idiot]]
* [[513: Friends]]
* [[518: Flow Charts]]
* [[540: Base System]]
* [[569: Borders]]
* [[565: Security Question]]
* [[552: Correlation]]
* [[559: No Pun Intended]]
* [[591: Troll Slayer]]
* [[571: Can't Sleep]]
* [[592: Drama]]
* [[585: Outreach]]



==Transcript==
{{Incomplete transcript}}
===Front cover===
===Back cover===
:[There are several otherwise nondescript gray rectangles on which the characters stand on. Red spiders are present throughout the panel.]
:[Two of these rectangles are attached from the area around the right corner and going off of the cover, in an L-shape. Black Hat stands on it, taking notes on a journal. Twenty-three red spiders lie on the object. Nine of them are clustered in the inner L corner, four of them forming chains. An additional red spider has just fallen off of the object from the right.]
:[To L shape's right, in the air, Cory Doctorow in his red suit is shown punching a red spider.]

==Other non-comic content==
The book also contains other content than just the comics, usually in red.

The following pages have the respective 2 characters in the upper right corner

101010 grey LY 
101120 red IK 
102000 red GU 
110100 red EH 
110102 red DO 
110111 red CR 

Page 110120 contains the following poem rotated 90 degrees clockwise. 
THE START OF THE TENTH-FAVORITE WORD USED BY BENDER 
THE TOON THAT WENT SOUTH WHILE COMMANDED BY ENDER 
THE NUMBER OF LIGHTS THAT PICARD SAID WERE ON 
AND THE CLASS OF THE PLANET WHERE KIRK SHOUTED "KHAAAN!" 
THE RINGS FOR THE MEN MINUS RINGS FOR THE ELVES 
AND THE PRODUCT MOD 10 OF A FIVESOME OF TWELVES 
THE END OF A CODE NES GAMERS KNOW 
AND THE BASE USED TO MODEL HOW QUICKLY THINGS GROW 
WHEN THEY'RE XOR'D TOGETHER THE CHECKSUM IS "E" 
WHICH WILL TELL YOY YOU'VE GOT THE PENULTIMATE KEY 



[[Category:Red Spiders]]
[[Category:Problematic pages]]
[[Category:Books]]
{{xkcdmeta}}

562: Parking

2023-12-18T04:22:00Z

108.162.242.37: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as finding, when a parking lot is full, that someone has parked so carelessly as to take up two spaces. Even worse, it may have been intentional; they decided to exchange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car for the risk of someone doing it on purpose, see [[1030: Keyed]]. However, there are also non-violent ways to tackle the problem{{citation needed}}; [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note], or (if possible) just move their car (whether to its proper alignment or to an impound lot).

Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the road less traveled, apparently involving a {{w|cutting torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}. The offending portion of the parked car is sliced off (entirely without surgical precision) and neatly slotted into the remainder of the space. It is now legally parked, but will never become a functional car again{{Citation needed}}. But at least Black Hat finally has space for his own car!

This comic may be the one referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]], where it is shown that Black Hat '...completely disassembled a car' because 'It was parked across two spaces! It was only fair', or this is the second time that a car has been in the way of him parking, so he has taken matters into his own hands.

The title text indicates that a large crowd watched Black Hat at work but refused to identify him, presumably because they feel that the car owner got what he deserved.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot.]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that block two spaces.]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car.]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a blow torch and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The blow torch is lit.]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

==Trivia==
Black Hat, in the fourth panel, is also seen in the "Your Ad Here" screen.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

562: Parking

2023-12-18T04:21:41Z

108.162.242.37: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as finding, when a parking lot is full, that someone has parked so carelessly as to take up two spaces. Even worse, it may have been intentional; they decided to exchange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car for the risk of someone doing it on purpose, see [[1030: Keyed]]. However, there are also non-violent ways to tackle the problem{{citation needed}}; [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note], or (if possible) just move their car (whether to its proper alignment or to an impound lot).

Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the road less traveled, apparently involving a {{w|cutting torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}. The offending portion of the parked car is sliced off (entirely without surgical precision) and neatly slotted into the remainder of the space. It is now legally parked, but will never become a functional car again {{Citation needed}}. But at least Black Hat finally has space for his own car!

This comic may be the one referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]], where it is shown that Black Hat '...completely disassembled a car' because 'It was parked across two spaces! It was only fair', or this is the second time that a car has been in the way of him parking, so he has taken matters into his own hands.

The title text indicates that a large crowd watched Black Hat at work but refused to identify him, presumably because they feel that the car owner got what he deserved.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot.]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that block two spaces.]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car.]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a blow torch and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The blow torch is lit.]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

==Trivia==
Black Hat, in the fourth panel, is also seen in the "Your Ad Here" screen.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

562: Parking

2023-12-18T04:21:16Z

108.162.242.37: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as finding, when a parking lot is full, that someone has parked so carelessly as to take up two spaces. Even worse, it may have been intentional; they decided to exchange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car for the risk of someone doing it on purpose, see [[1030: Keyed]]. However, there are also non-violent ways to tackle the problem{{citation needed}}; [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note], or (if possible) just move their car (whether to its proper alignment or to an impound lot).

Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the road less traveled, apparently involving a {{w|cutting torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}. The offending portion of the parked car is sliced off (entirely without surgical precision) and neatly slotted into the remainder of the space. It is now legally parked,but will never become a functional car again {{Citation needed}}. But at least Black Hat finally has space for his own car!

This comic may be the one referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]], where it is shown that Black Hat '...completely disassembled a car' because 'It was parked across two spaces! It was only fair', or this is the second time that a car has been in the way of him parking, so he has taken matters into his own hands.

The title text indicates that a large crowd watched Black Hat at work but refused to identify him, presumably because they feel that the car owner got what he deserved.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot.]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that block two spaces.]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car.]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a blow torch and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The blow torch is lit.]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

==Trivia==
Black Hat, in the fourth panel, is also seen in the "Your Ad Here" screen.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2818: Circuit Symbols

2023-08-22T17:40:30Z

108.162.242.37: Fixed "Nathaniel Hawthorne's" to remove the "'s"

{{comic
| number = 2818
| date = August 21, 2023
| title = Circuit Symbols
| image = circuit_symbols_2x.png
| imagesize = 438x362px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A circle with an A in it means that the circuit has committed a sin and has been marked as punishment.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic contains several symbols used in circuit diagrams. Each is labeled with a larger object that the symbol looks like a drawing of, rather than the electrical component it actually represents.
Also included are the real symbol for a battery and two modifications of that symbol with corresponding modification of the ''word'' "battery".
{| class="wikitable"
! Symbol !! Randall's Description !! Explanation
|-
| Switch
| Drawbridge
| The symbol represents a physical on/off {{w|switch}} in a circuit, but also resembles a {{w|drawbridge}}. A switch functions the exact same as a drawbridge, impeding electrons' flow when it is open.
|-
| Capacitor
| Overpass
| A {{w|capacitor}} is a component that can be used to hold electric charge, but also looks a bit like a map depiction for a highway {{w|overpass}} of a main road passing over a more minor track. This may actually be refered to more as an {{w|Tunnel#Underpass|underpass}}, from the perspective of the lesser route, being not usually as obvious a feature when using the upper highway.
|-
| Ground
| Pogo Stick
| This symbol represents a connection to "{{w|Ground (electricity)|ground}}" or "earth", the common baseline voltage ''or'' safe current sink for various circuits (e.g. against which an aerial signal can be compared). If the horizontal lines are taken as motion/impactinds it might looks like a stylised {{w|pogo stick}}.
|-
| Resistor (ANSI)
| Earthquake
| A {{w|resistor}} is a component that reduces current flow in a circuit. There are two main symbols used: an IEC-style 'box' or, like here, the ANSI zig-zagged line. In this case, it also looks somewhat like the marks an earthquake makes on a seismograph and/or the 'rucks' of the ground (especially asphalt roads) that might result from underlying tectonic movements.
|-
| Inductor
| Sheep
| {{w|Inductor}}s create a magnetic field when current passes through them, and generally consist of a coil of wire, which the symbol reflects. The symbol seems in this case to be interpreted like the fluffy wool of a sheep.
|-
| Transformer
| Two sheep in love, trapped on opposite side of a fence.
| A {{w|transformer}} consists of two (or more) induction coils, for input and output(s), and a common core to mediate the transfer of power across the gap. The curly loop symbols of the symbol have already been claimed to resemble sheep, and the straight line (which is the core) now represents a fence separating two sheep who nonetheless wish to be together.
|-
| Battery
| Battery
| Not a joke, this is a typical symbol for a {{w|Electric battery|battery}}, or other form of {{w|voltaic pile}}.
|-
| Battery (sorted)
| Baertty
| Randall may have mapped the characters "tt" to the first short line and "er" to the following long line in the original symbol, having had "ba" and "y" assisnged to the long and short "T" shapes that form the connections to the rest of the circuit. By rearranging the symbolic verticals as long-long-short-short, as he has done in this (fictional) symbol, be thus shuffles "er" in front of the "tt".
|-
| Battery, with far too many short lines
| Battttttttttttery
| The only other fictional symbol. Which, by the same established naming rules, means that the name is spelled with six "tt"s instead of just the single pair.
|-
| Photodiode
| Check out this really cool diode
| A {{w|photodiode}} generates, or allows to pass, a current in response to light. The symbol is related to the standard {{w|diode}} with the arrows pointing at it representing the light which activates its behaviour. In this case, Randall instead pretends that the arrows are pointing at it to draw attention to it because it's "really cool".
|-
| Oscillator
| Wave Pool
| An {{w|Electronic oscillator|oscillator}} generates signals that oscillate at a given frequencies, for use in other circuitry, and one symbol used for one (in reality, built from a number of components in their own right) is this symbol. Waves in water are a type of oscillation that may be more familiar to most people than waves of electricity. A {{w|wave pool}} is in fact the ''result'' of a type of (mechanical) oscillator, and rarely has electricity running through it {{Citation needed}}.[Citation needed joke was needed.]
|-
| Transistor
| Trolley Problem
| A {{w|transistor}} will switch on current flow across one pair of connections, depending upon the input from an input one. Thus, it switches electricity in the same way that the {{w|trolley problem}} switches the trolley track. The symbol also somewhat resembles the usual pictorial depiction of the problem.
|-
| Circle with an A in it (Title text)
| Committed a sin and marked as punishment
| Circles with letters are usually some special component, as also with the oscillator's glyph. In this case the "A" stands for ammeter, a device used to measure {{w|electric current}} (an "{{w|ampere}} meter"). This is conflated with the practice of branding the 'guilty', or requiring them to display their crime for a period of pennance. For example: in ''{{w|The Scarlet Letter}}'', a historical novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the heroine must wear an ''A'' to mark her as an adulteress.
|}

Randall has previously depicted distorted uses, depictions and/or labeling of the standard US-form {{w|electronic symbol}}s in comics such as [[730: Circuit Diagram]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A chart of various circuit symbols and their (mostly) fictitious meanings based off of their drawings, captioned:] Circuit Symbols

[The symbol for a switch, labelled:] Drawbridge

[The symbol for a capacitor, labelled:] Overpass

[The symbol for a connection to ground, labelled:] Pogo Stick

[The symbol for a resistor, labelled:] Earthquake

[The symbol for an inductor, labelled:] Sheep

[The symbol for a transformer, labelled:] Two Sheep in Love, Trapped on Opposite Sides of a Fence

[The symbol for a battery, labelled:] Battery

[The symbol for a battery, sorted, labelled:] Baertty

[The symbol for a battery, with far too many short lines, labelled:] Battttttttttttery

[The symbol for a photodiode, labelled:] Check Out This Really Cool Diode

[The symbol for an oscillator, labelled:] Wave Pool

[The symbol for a transistor, labelled:] Trolley Problem

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Charts]]

2818: Circuit Symbols

2023-08-22T17:36:46Z

108.162.242.37:

{{comic
| number = 2818
| date = August 21, 2023
| title = Circuit Symbols
| image = circuit_symbols_2x.png
| imagesize = 438x362px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A circle with an A in it means that the circuit has committed a sin and has been marked as punishment.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic contains several symbols used in circuit diagrams. Each is labeled with a larger object that the symbol looks like a drawing of, rather than the electrical component it actually represents.
Also included are the real symbol for a battery and two modifications of that symbol with corresponding modification of the ''word'' "battery".
{| class="wikitable"
! Symbol !! Randall's Description !! Explanation
|-
| Switch
| Drawbridge
| The symbol represents a physical on/off {{w|switch}} in a circuit, but also resembles a {{w|drawbridge}}. A switch functions the exact same as a drawbridge, impeding electrons' flow when it is open.
|-
| Capacitor
| Overpass
| A {{w|capacitor}} is a component that can be used to hold electric charge, but also looks a bit like a map depiction for a highway {{w|overpass}} of a main road passing over a more minor track. This may actually be refered to more as an {{w|Tunnel#Underpass|underpass}}, from the perspective of the lesser route, being not usually as obvious a feature when using the upper highway.
|-
| Ground
| Pogo Stick
| This symbol represents a connection to "{{w|Ground (electricity)|ground}}" or "earth", the common baseline voltage ''or'' safe current sink for various circuits (e.g. against which an aerial signal can be compared). If the horizontal lines are taken as motion/impactinds it might looks like a stylised {{w|pogo stick}}.
|-
| Resistor (ANSI)
| Earthquake
| A {{w|resistor}} is a component that reduces current flow in a circuit. There are two main symbols used: an IEC-style 'box' or, like here, the ANSI zig-zagged line. In this case, it also looks somewhat like the marks an earthquake makes on a seismograph and/or the 'rucks' of the ground (especially asphalt roads) that might result from underlying tectonic movements.
|-
| Inductor
| Sheep
| {{w|Inductor}}s create a magnetic field when current passes through them, and generally consist of a coil of wire, which the symbol reflects. The symbol seems in this case to be interpreted like the fluffy wool of a sheep.
|-
| Transformer
| Two sheep in love, trapped on opposite side of a fence.
| A {{w|transformer}} consists of two (or more) induction coils, for input and output(s), and a common core to mediate the transfer of power across the gap. The curly loop symbols of the symbol have already been claimed to resemble sheep, and the straight line (which is the core) now represents a fence separating two sheep who nonetheless wish to be together.
|-
| Battery
| Battery
| Not a joke, this is a typical symbol for a {{w|Electric battery|battery}}, or other form of {{w|voltaic pile}}.
|-
| Battery (sorted)
| Baertty
| Randall may have mapped the characters "tt" to the first short line and "er" to the following long line in the original symbol, having had "ba" and "y" assisnged to the long and short "T" shapes that form the connections to the rest of the circuit. By rearranging the symbolic verticals as long-long-short-short, as he has done in this (fictional) symbol, be thus shuffles "er" in front of the "tt".
|-
| Battery, with far too many short lines
| Battttttttttttery
| The only other fictional symbol. Which, by the same established naming rules, means that the name is spelled with six "tt"s instead of just the single pair.
|-
| Photodiode
| Check out this really cool diode
| A {{w|photodiode}} generates, or allows to pass, a current in response to light. The symbol is related to the standard {{w|diode}} with the arrows pointing at it representing the light which activates its behaviour. In this case, Randall instead pretends that the arrows are pointing at it to draw attention to it because it's "really cool".
|-
| Oscillator
| Wave Pool
| An {{w|Electronic oscillator|oscillator}} generates signals that oscillate at a given frequencies, for use in other circuitry, and one symbol used for one (in reality, built from a number of components in their own right) is this symbol. Waves in water are a type of oscillation that may be more familiar to most people than waves of electricity. A {{w|wave pool}} is in fact the ''result'' of a type of (mechanical) oscillator, and rarely has electricity running through it {{Citation needed}}.[Citation needed joke was needed.]
|-
| Transistor
| Trolley Problem
| A {{w|transistor}} will switch on current flow across one pair of connections, depending upon the input from an input one. Thus, it switches electricity in the same way that the {{w|trolley problem}} switches the trolley track. The symbol also somewhat resembles the usual pictorial depiction of the problem.
|-
| Circle with an A in it (Title text)
| Committed a sin and marked as punishment
| Circles with letters are usually some special component, as also with the oscillator's glyph. In this case the "A" stands for ammeter, a device used to measure {{w|electric current}} (an "{{w|ampere}} meter"). This is conflated with the practice of branding the 'guilty', or requiring them to display their crime for a period of pennance. For example: in ''{{w|The Scarlet Letter}}'', a historical novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne's, the heroine must wear an ''A'' to mark her as an adulteress.
|}

Randall has previously depicted distorted uses, depictions and/or labeling of the standard US-form {{w|electronic symbol}}s in comics such as [[730: Circuit Diagram]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A chart of various circuit symbols and their (mostly) fictitious meanings based off of their drawings, captioned:] Circuit Symbols

[The symbol for a switch, labelled:] Drawbridge

[The symbol for a capacitor, labelled:] Overpass

[The symbol for a connection to ground, labelled:] Pogo Stick

[The symbol for a resistor, labelled:] Earthquake

[The symbol for an inductor, labelled:] Sheep

[The symbol for a transformer, labelled:] Two Sheep in Love, Trapped on Opposite Sides of a Fence

[The symbol for a battery, labelled:] Battery

[The symbol for a battery, sorted, labelled:] Baertty

[The symbol for a battery, with far too many short lines, labelled:] Battttttttttttery

[The symbol for a photodiode, labelled:] Check Out This Really Cool Diode

[The symbol for an oscillator, labelled:] Wave Pool

[The symbol for a transistor, labelled:] Trolley Problem

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Charts]]